Ibn Sa'ud and Arabia
Adventures in Arabia, among the Bedouins, Druses, Whirling Dervishes and Yezidee Devil-Worshippers. By W. B. Seabrook. (Harrap. 12s. tkl.)
THE recent Wahhabi raids have drawn attention to the danger to the peace of the world that may arise from the renewed activity of this fanatical group of the warriors of Islam. There is no longer any strong Muhammadan Power interested in checking its expansion, as were Turkey and Egypt, when the first Wahhabi movement was crushed by the forces of Muhammad All rather more than a century ago. In the present 'crisis much will depend upon the action that will be taken by the King of the Hijaz and Nejd in controlling the unruly members of the Wahhabi confederacy over which he rules.
Mr. Philby's book, The Heart of Arabia, published six years ago, made us acquainted with this remarkable personality, for whom this intrepid traveller conceived a profound respect, but any fresh information about a ruler who fills so important a place in the political life of Arabia at the present day and is in possession of the religious centre of the Muhammadan world is welcome, and Mr. Ameen Rihani's book thus makes its appearance at an opportune moment, and is valuable for the first-hand information which it provides, especially as the point of view from which he views the political situation in Arabia differs considerably from that of Mr. Philby. What attracted Mr. Ameen Rihani to the interior of Arabia was his interest in the Pan-Arab movement, and it is clear from his text that he has no sympathy with the English attitude towards this question. He is an American citizen, though born a Syrian Christian. . He went to America as a boy and began his career there as a journalist. .His sensitive tem- perament was repelled by the materialistic aspects of American life, so he returned to Syria and took an active part in political movements on the outbreak of the Turkish revolution in 1908. Disappointed by his expectations on this occasion, he went back to America and by his writings laid the foundations of the reputation he now enjoys of being one of the foremost writers of modern Arabic. Since the close of the War he has taken up his residence in the Lebanon, where his pen is still active. .
It is true that the journey which Mr. Ameen Rihani describes took place so long ago as 1922, when Sir Percy
Cox was still High Commissioner for Iraq and Ibn Sa'ud
had not yet made his dramatic descent upon Mecca and established .Wahhabi rule in the Holy City. Events have
moved fast since he wrote the first account of this journey, in Arabic, in 1925, in his book The Kings of the Arabs, and several of the potentates whom he then interviewed have passed out of history. King Husayn had to fly before the advance of the troops of Ibn Sa'ud in 1924 and has since died in exile and the Idrisi Shaykh, Sayyid Muhammad ibn Ali, whom the author also interviewed, died early in 1928.
It might therefore appear that the present work which is based upon this Arabic publication is somewhat out of date ; but it is of importance at the present time for the light it throws on the ahns and character of Ibn Sa'ud and on the psychology of his Wahhabi following. Mr. Philby first visited Ibn Sa'ud on a diplomatic mission, and official reticence and the admiration he feels for his hero, Ibn
may have imposed upon his pen some restraint in regard to the less attractive aspects of the Wahhabi movement ; he states that during his visit to the Wahhabi capital he observed no outward exhibition of disapproval or hostility, but in Mr. Ameen Rihani's book we get a more detailed picture of Wahhabi fanaticism and its hostile attitude not only to Muhanunadans of other sects, but also to the whole Christian world—and a most unpleasant picture it is. Here is his description of the Ulema through whom the ruler keeps his people in the strict paths of the Wahhabi system. "Asceticism and piety are ever watchful and alert. If one is seen walking in that quarter through the street with a swing of the shoulders or a sweep of the garment, he is forth- with reprimanded for his arrogance. If one laughs freely in one's house, some one will soon knock at the door. Why are you laughing in this ribald manner ? No one in that quarter ever dares miss, except for a reason of sickness, one of the five daily prayers in the mosque. As for tobacco, the culprit, when he is discovered smoking, is summarily dealt with. No pity has the piety of the Ulema ; no mercy in their ascetic justice."
And what of the product of such teaching, the Ikhwan, or Brethren ? The author describes them as the white terror of Arabia, "frantically fanatical Unitarians," seeldng the heads of the polytheists ; and it says much for the personal magnetism and the political sagacity of Ibn Sa'ud that he is able to keep such wild spirits under control and discipline. The admiration of the author for Ibn Sa'ud himself shows itself throughout the whole of the narrative, and an interesting record is given of his political opinions ; among them is the belief that Europe is bankrupt, impotent, and dead.
Mr. Seabrook's book is of quite a di fferznt character and is concerned with Arabs of 'rransjordan, who are hostile to the Wahhabis, with the Druses, the Mawlawis of Syria, and the Yazidis near Mosul. He has mixed on terms of easy and familiar friendship with these people, and has given an account of his life and experiences among them in picturesque and racy language. Coming among them as an American, without any political purpose, his genial temperament gained for him a ready entrance into their society, about which he has much to say that is new and illuminating, and his easy style makes his book attractive reading.
Lastly, a word on the transliteration of Arabic. Most English publishers are old enough to remember the frequent complaint : Why have we not got an Academy like other countries to settle matters of orthography, &c. ? We now have a British Academy, and in 1922 it published a scheme for the transliteration of Arabic. Why cannot publishers tell the authors of the books they publish to make use of it, and thus save themselves the expense of printing lengthy introductions explaining the particular system, or lack of system, they have invented, and deliver the reading public from much consequent bewilderment ?
THOMAS ARNOLD.
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